Melek Avci

 

ANKARA - MEP Özlem Demirel has criticised the international arena against the NATO-backed jihadist militias fomented by Turkey for the new design of the Middle East, saying, "The Kurdish politics in Syria is a politics that can lead the way for the brotherhood of peoples, for democracy and peace. Arms sales must be stopped immediately because sending weapons to war zones means these wars."

 

While the peoples and PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan are ready for peace, war and conflicts continue to be triggered in the region under the leadership of NATO in the new design of the Middle East. In the Syrian city of Halab, the groups of Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) armed by Turkey, which advanced without encountering any resistance from Assad, captured Damascus. While the Syrian Democratic Forces are resisting to protect the peoples of the region, the AKP-MHP government, which puts forward the ‘peace and process’ discussions but does not take concrete steps, once again revealed the message that it will support these groups on the grounds of ‘national security’ at the National Security Council (MGK). 

 

Mazlum Abdi, General Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (QSD), said, ‘We are in favour of a political solution. We are ready for the solution of the problems. Northern and Eastern Syria must be included in the solution discussions’, while calls for the defence of Rojava and the region against massacres are being made from all over the world against the new DAİS threat. 

 

Özlem Alev Demirel, Member of the Left Group of the European Parliament, made evaluations on the war process, the importance of discussing peace and against the attacks.

 

Talking peace while war hardens 

 

Özlem Demirel, who participated in the first meeting of the European Peace Forum, which re-declared its establishment with the demand for peace, emphasised that it is important to raise the demand for peace in a world conjuncture where wars continue unabated.  Özlem Demirel said, "While discussing the new design of the Middle East, the Kurdish people's demand for peace was underlined. It was very important for us. As you know, the Middle East has always been a region where wars are always on the alert, especially with the Israeli war against Palestine, which started after 7 November, and the further expansion of this war on the axis of Lebanon and Iran, the Middle East is being reorganised. Within the framework of this new order, jihadist groups, especially with the support of Turkey, have recently taken up arms in Syria. The war in Syria was not over since 2011, but it has taken on a new dimension. Putting forward the demand for peace of the peoples of the Middle East within this order is a very important demand for me and for the peoples of the world. In this respect, the meeting was very important. It was established 2-3 weeks ago, we were not yet in a situation where the war had reached this dimension, but it was known and therefore the discussions on the Middle East will take a much more important dimension in the coming period."

 

‘We need a democratisation process, not room for manoeuvre’

 

Stating that the Kurdish problem in four parts has been waiting to be solved peacefully and democratically for years rather than the new design of the Middle East, Özlem Demirel said: "The solution is important regardless of today. But it seems that the reason for such a call, especially with the MHP and Devlet Bahçeli and the AKP, is to create a new manoeuvring space for themselves in the process of redesigning the Middle East. However, it must be underlined that this peace process, which is not a manoeuvring space for any government, but a demand for democratisation of the Kurdish people living there and all the peoples living in the mosaic of Turkey, must be initiated. This is valid for the whole region; for Iran, Syria, Iraq and all the peoples of the Middle East."

 

The road to peace 

 

Özlem Demirel emphasised the need to overcome the gangrenous problems of the Middle East due to the borders drawn by foreign intervention and stated the importance of defending the right of peoples to self-determination. Özlem Demirel said, "Firstly, if the government used this call as a political tactic rather than a sincere one, this should be criticised. Secondly, it is an important demand to enter into such a peace and solution process.  The third point is that both the Kurdish people and the Palestinian people have long recognised their right to self-determination as historically damaged. It is very important to defend the right of these peoples to self-determination. The realisation of these demands of both the Kurdish people and the Palestinian people means paving the way for a peaceful process that can offer a different future to the region."

 

The role of Kurds in the four countries is crucial

 

Özlem Demirel said that the Kurdish movement put forward this life in Syria and introduced the concept of the brotherhood of peoples to the world and added "The struggle of the Kurdish people in Syria together with Rojava has shown that; The Kurdish people want to move forward with a politics that can answer the democratic demands of all peoples, not only for themselves. This is very important. It is very important to pursue a politics that puts the brotherhood of peoples at the forefront, but also allows all peoples to live their own identities. That is why the Middle East will be discussed a lot in the coming period, and it is clear that the role of the Kurdish people in the four countries is very important."

 

Interests of the international arena 

 

Referring to the arming and triggering of HTS groups in Syria in the recent process, fuelling the civil war and the silence of the international arena against this, Özlem Demirel emphasised that geopolitical interests come to the fore in the new design and said: "The European Union is a union of interests consisting of 27 countries.  In its politics, the EU has not taken a stance criticising the recent trustee appointments or other violations of democracy. Especially after the war in Ukraine, the EU, which is in conflict with Russia and other imperialist countries but is itself imperialist, pursues a policy in line with its geopolitical interests. At this point, geopolitically, Turkey is the gateway to the Middle East, one of the most developed countries in the region, etc. and the EU is trying to develop its relations in line with its own interests. No steps have been taken to initiate a peace process and to involve all groups in the region. Neither the EU nor the US has taken any steps, on the contrary, they have done their best to ensure that this war continues, sometimes more hesitantly and sometimes more harshly."

 

The war of sovereign politics or the peoples’ demand for peace?

 

Özlem Demirel said, "The point we criticise is not to act in line with your own interest policies, people are dying there; we say take realistic and sincere steps for solution processes, not for triggering wars. Currently, there is a fight for the reorganisation and sharing of the world by the great economic and political powers. In this process, each side is conducting politics in line with its own interests, and we should criticise the fact that this interest sometimes turns into armed wars. In the face of this politics, there is the interest of the peoples, the demand of the peoples, which is, above all, peace, freedom, the right to self-determination and the demand to live a life in social security. There are two different lines here, between the sovereign politics and the peoples' demand."

 

‘The Syrian line of the Kurdish people is a guiding light’

 

Özlem Demirel said that the demand of the peoples is peace above all and emphasised the need for sincere solidarity. Özlem Demirel said, "The first is the demand that if you have a problem and you cannot solve it among yourselves, you cannot solve it with the blood of us and our brothers and sisters. The peoples of Europe should be more sensitive and vocal against militarism. Sincere international solidarity must be shown in a real sense. It must be said that we do not want innocent people to die, whether Syrian, Israeli, Palestinian or Kurdish, and therefore we demand an end to this war. For this reason, progressive forces should be given more support. As I said, the line that the Kurdish people and politics are currently pursuing in Syria is a politics that can lead the way in favour of the brotherhood of peoples, democracy and peace. It is necessary to support this." 

 

Concrete and sincere steps 

 

Finally, Özlem Demirel made the following statements: "Recently, Germany has started to sell quite a lot of weapons to Turkey. These arms sales should be stopped immediately because sending arms to war zones means prolonging these wars. If you really want this war to end, if you really want the war and tension in Syria to stop, then you should come forward with the demand to stop your arms sales."